No coach helped gain bigger victory than 'Shug' Jordan

American reinforcements in a Coast Guard barge land on the beaches of Normandy on D-Day, June 6, 1944. Among the troops who landed at Utah Beach that day was Selma native Ralph “Shug” Jordan, who distinguished himself in battle and went on to became a legendary football coach at Auburn.(Photo: GNS)

Alabama has been home to many heroes during its nearly two century history, but it would be hard to name anyone with greater courage than Ralph "Shug" Jordan.

Forget his record-setting football coaching career at Auburn University. Football is just a game. Players go home after the final whistle.

War is the real thing. People die. "Shug" could attest to that when he came home in 1945. He had seen it up close and very personal.

Most troops involved in World War II combat participated in one invasion in one region. Not Army Capt. Ralph Jordan, who grew up in Selma. He was in five invasions — four in the European theater, one in the Pacific.

The worst occurred 70 years ago today. It was D-Day and signaled the beginning of the end for Hitler.

Jordan was a combat engineer whose unit's job at Normandy was to help destroy Rommel's defensive obstacles that lined Utah Beach. His engineers had a specific assignment — setting explosives to penetrate a German seawall aimed at slowing the Allied advance.

Speed was vital because American tanks were waiting for the seawall to be breached so they could push through toward the French interior.

His unit landed soon after initial waves of troops ran into the teeth of German resistance. Parts of the English Channel turned red.

Not long after his men began destroying the obstacles, a German artillery shell landed in the middle of their position, killing and wounding several.

Jordan was wounded but stayed with his men, refusing evacuation to a hospital ship. At one point, he couldn't be found. Fearing the worst, his troops began searching. They found him propped against a seawall, smoking a cigarette, pain etched in his face.

He was lucky. Surrounding him were men who had given their all. He would describe the scene later, saying he was stunned to find bodies "stacked like cord wood."

Montgomery author Rich Donnell was one of the last journalists to interview Jordan in 1979, meeting with him to discuss Auburn's rivalry with the University of Tennessee.

Several years later, Donnell used the interview as part of his book: "SHUG: The Life and Times of Auburn's Ralph "Shug" Jordan."

During their chat, they discussed many issues, including Jordan's views on war and the impact it had on him.

"I felt like I had the correct upbringing in Selma," Jordan told him. "I knew right from wrong, and the war served to strengthen those values that I was taught as a young man."

"Shug never even mentioned that he had been wounded at Normandy," Donnell said Thursday.

Modesty was one of several virtues possessed by a man whose nickname stemmed from his love of sorghum sugar cane, something he often chewed, especially during athletic events.

Responsibility was another lesson taught to Jordan by his parents, and he didn't forget it as the pain worsened on Utah Beach. He would not leave his men unless he was physically unable to carry on.

Capt. Henry McHarg, an officer in Jordan's engineer brigade, wrote then Auburn University President Hanley Funderburk, about Jordan's courage under fire and after being wounded.

"He basically asked to be stitched up so he could stay with his troops during the initial phase of the invasion," McHarg wrote. "It hurt him like hell, but he knew he wasn't going to die."

In his letter to the AU president, McHarg said Jordan lost the use of his arm but still refused evacuation, and "it was a fine thing to have done to stay on the beach."

An Army doctor gave Jordan a local anesthetic as he began to dig shrapnel out of his arm, but the pain became so severe that Jordan was sent to a hospital ship for treatment.

After he recovered from his wounds, he could have avoided further combat. Not "Shug." He led his unit across the Pacific to the island of Okinawa, one of the bloodiest battles of the war.

He finally returned from the war to civilian life and his Evelyn, whom he married in 1937 and with whom he had three children. He laid aside his Bronze Star, Purple Heart and other combat decorations to resume more peaceful pursuits such as becoming the greatest football coach in Auburn history, leading the Tigers from 1951 to 1975 and compiling a record of 176-83-6.

Jordan's 1957 team went undefeated and was named national champion by the Associated Press. He also compiled winning records in basketball at Auburn and the University of Georgia where he was an assistant coach for a brief period.

In 1973, Hare Stadium was renamed Jordan-Hare Stadium. Later, Jordan was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. Adding his name to the football stadium was the first time that such an honor was bestowed upon an active coach in America.

Jordan was diagnosed with acute leukemia in the spring of 1980. He died at his home on July 17 of that year at the age of 69. Six of his former players served as pallbearers. Evelyn Jordan died in 2011

James "Red" Phillips of Alexander City and Bill Cody of Fairhope — both Auburn All-Americans who became professional stars — both regard their coach as one of a kind.

"He always had a positive attitude, and when we lost, he'd tell us we could learn from our mistakes," said Cody, who was recently inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame.

Ralph Jordan Jr. took his father back to Jordan-Hare stadium shortly before his death and drove slowly around the outside of the football field. It was his father's last look at an athletic venue that had meant so much to him.

It had been 36 years since that unforgettable day in June 1944, and he had not forgotten it. There was no way he could. It was the same for thousands of other troops on D-Day.

As the years passed, Jordan would talk about the day that changed history, but he never did it in a personal way to attract praise.

On occasion, he would draw parallels between football and combat and, in a television interview, said the following:

"Fifteen minutes after hitting the beach, I had a piece of shrapnel in my left arm. I feel if it hadn't been for football and having participated not only as a player but also having watched many a fine football player or just an ordinary player giving it all he's got, I don't know whether I'd have gotten any further that day."

This day of days marks seven decades since brave men defied the odds and landed on beaches that meant death for many, some still in their teens.

As for "Shug" Jordan's bravery in battle, a comment from his coaching rival in Tuscaloosa sums up the kind of man he was.

"Shug has more courage in his little finger than I've got in my entire body," Paul "Bear" Bryant once said.